Smear test - is it normal to find leaves and twigs?

FFS if you read my previous posts I've mentioned what helped me. It also helped me knowing that other people find smears traumatic. If I thought everyone else breezed through them I'd think there was something wrong with me. So please take your fucking dramatics and maybe do something useful like suggest how women who are traumatised can find ways to cope with the smear, rather than visit a fucking oncology unit.

Thanks for this op - I have been putting it off. Will book!

I guess I should also have added that women shouldn’t ignore symptoms either
whether or not they have had a smear.

So women who are experiencing literal agony every time they go for a smear should stay silent? Presumably because they're just being ninnies and dramatic attention seekers, everyone knows it's just a moment of mild discomfort, get over yourself Sandra.

Or, alternatively, we could calmly introduce into the narrative the information that 'smears are painful for some women. If you experience pain, tell the clinician straight away, he/she will help you.' And then fucking CHANGE the narrative around women's pain during smears, and CHANGE how clinicians approach them, so that said clinician actually does help, is trained to know what to do for those of us who struggle with smears - different size speculum, different position, whatever's needed - and doesn't lose patience, rush the patient, sneer, 'other' the patient if they are built differently down there (as has happened to me), or imply the patient is just being a big ol' baby and needs to woman up.

Then perhaps we'd have a shot at win-win, with more women attending for smears and fewer opting out. More lives saved. Or, you know, women could just carry on shaming other women over their pain. Whatever. 🤷‍♀️

I had pre cancerous cells aged 23, detected through a smear test. Mine would have turned to cancer. 23 years old, 23! So I’d probably have been dead by 30 had I not been for smear tests. I’m very thankful we have them. I would encourage everyone to be tested. Yes everyone has different experiences, ranging from nothing to excruciating. Personally, I’d choose excruciating over dying every time 🤷‍♀️

Thanks this is really helpful. I'm 46 have had no previous issues and been in a monogamous relationship for more than 25 years. I'm going to do a bit more looking into things but I really can't see any point in putting myself through the hassle rather than just doing an HPV swab.

There's no decency in the posts! Nobody ends the comments encouraging women to still have smears because most women cope with it just fine! Go to a oncology unit or ask Jade Goodies kids who grew up without her if I'm being dramatic! A woman that reads comments like that could end up dead!

If it helps anyone, i had years of really painful smears, till one nurse said I have a very tilted cervix and to bunch my fists under my back to lift my hips up (like butterfly bridge for any yoga people). Transformed.

or there might be something that HCPs don't bother doing that will make it more bearable.
Numbing gel.

Is it still flying over people's heads? How many people are reading this comments? 100 women? 200? Maybe a 1000? And how many of them see those comments and decide never to have a smear test they would very likely have had no issue with because of it! How many might die? I never see an ounce of decency in those posts where the poster says that their experience is rare and that women should absolutely be tested! Not one! They paint it black and refuse to damage limitate! And you wonder why it makes me mad! Go and visit an oncology unit and have a think about it!

Oh stop with the dramatics! Are you saying anyone who finds them painful or traumatic should just put up and shut up? Surely sharing experiences, good or bad, is a good things as someone else might have had a similar experience and found a way of coping or managing, or there might be something that HCPs don't bother doing that will make it more bearable.

I got a prescription for numbing gel from the doctor prior to my appointment, the prescription cost 20 euro, same gel used for cosmetic injections, the doctor squeezed in most of the tube, it was completely painless for smear and coil. I have a sensitive cervix. The gel is excellent.

if you have had previous issues then you need a full test as the cells will be looked at. If you haven’t had previous issues AND you are found to be HPV positive, then it could be argued the process is faster as the cells can be looked at immediately.

Now, as I posted upthread, some people claim there is a benefit in a health professional doing this as they may spot something else. I’m not buying this one. In my lifetime of experience probably 10 smears perhaps more before I stopped going, when the smear was done easily it was super quick. When it wasn’t, the extra time was all about getting the sample. there was no pelvic exam or check of the vulva. The staff who do these tests are trained in the sample taking procedure. Whilst they may spot a gross problem, they do not have years of gynaecological experience where they will have been purposely exposed to rare or seldom seen conditions.

I can no longer have smears. I have seen two gynaecologists. One laughed at the idea of NOT having a smear being an issue and said the chances of cervical cancer are tiny. The other thought this was a serious problem and recommend a smear under GA. Which kind of blows my mind as GA comes with its own risk factors. Yes, not BIG risk factors but the same can be said about cervical
cancer.

Everyone is allowed to share their experience.
Not sure why you think you can react to it in such a nasty way.

People are stupid, they know child birth hurts but they also know they can have pain relief and people consider the baby worth it. It's not the same as telling women that smears are horrible and they shouldn't have it done! Not having a baby doesn't cause people to die of cancer! As soon as women see a comment painting a bleak picture of smears, they pay attention to that comment and ignore all the good comments, thats it the damage is done!

Its ment to find so called pre-cancerous cells that can potentially change into cancer cells. They may go away on their own or not. They may develope into cancer cells or not.
Where I live if they find these pre-cancerous cells, they repeat the smear test after 6 months and then again after 6 months. If they are still finding pre-cancerous cells they send you to have them scraped away in a hospital.

You can google more detailed info.

There is a clue in the “PTSD relapse”.

So is there any reason to have them done rather than just an HPV test?

Why not? That's her experience. It's like saying you should never say childbirth is painful. The reality is that for many women it is (and sometimes traumatic too). Women aren't children who can't deal with the truth. People have different experiences.

I don't find either mammos or smears comfortable. I have a tilted cervix too.

But I do them. Because the alternative is worse.

I have to say, the title had me here!!
Very good. I was agog to read you had gone so long without going, but glad you plucked up the courage. Even though I had a more uncomfortable ONE (after the birth of first child), I still went back.

I didn't know that was confirmed, very sad for the families.
Screenings aren't reliable. I think more women need to be aware of this as they may ignore other symptoms relying on a clear smear.

Agree mammograms are no problem whatsoever. Just a slight squeeze and awkward positioning of your armpit!

For context, I have never missed an appointment even though they have always been very uncomfortable, due to having an “elusive cervix”.

Now in my 50s, my last appointment was so painful I couldn’t continue with it. The nurse was flustered and didn’t suggest alternative positions or anything, which usually they do. I guess it’s atrophy, but she didn’t say that.

The nurse said I was low risk but she got the gp to prescribe some kind of hrt cream that I was supposed to use and then go back. I didn’t want to use the cream and didn’t feel confident about how the appointment would go anyway, so instead I bought a kit from Superdrug online and tested myself.

It was easy, pain free and quick, plus they tested for more than the routine would have.

If I was much younger and not in a 20 year marriage I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it but if anyone is in my situation, I think it’s better than nothing.

Me too. Not fun.